jealousy
Americannoun
plural
jealousies-
jealous resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another's success or advantage itself.
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mental uneasiness from suspicion or fear of rivalry, unfaithfulness, etc., as in love or aims.
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vigilance in maintaining or guarding something.
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a jealous feeling, disposition, state, or mood.
noun
Usage
What does jealousy mean? Jealousy is a feeling or state of resentment, bitterness, or hostility toward someone because they have something that you don’t.Jealousy usually occurs as a result of someone owning something you want but can’t have or having achieved some kind of success that you want to achieve but have not been able to.This sense of jealousy is very similar in meaning to envy, which refers to a mostly negative feeling of desire for something that someone else has and you do not—like a mix of admiration and discontent. However, while envy is not necessarily malicious, jealousy usually implies a deeper resentment, perhaps because you feel that you deserve the thing more than the other person, or that it is unfair that they have it and you don’t.Jealousy is also used in the context of romantic relationships to refer to a feeling of hostility, uneasiness, or distress relating to the fear that one’s romantic partner will be unfaithful. This often involves opposition to others giving one’s partner positive attention. Such jealousy is considered very unhealthy in relationships.Someone who is feeling or is prone to jealousy can be described as jealous. Jealous can also be used to describe such a person’s thoughts or actions.Example: If your friends feel jealousy over your success, they may not be your friends.
Commonly Confused
See envy.
Related Words
See envy.
Etymology
Origin of jealousy
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English gelusie, gelosie, from Old French gelosie, jalousie, equivalent to gelos “jealous” + -ie noun suffix; jealous, -y 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her jealousy is delicious when Skarsgård’s strapping wooden groom makes the other men look small, telling Colman that she’s “the reason I live and breathe.”
From Los Angeles Times
Some of them thought it with a spike of jealousy for their own children, and others with a thrill of pleasure.
From Literature
There are bouts of jealousy when one child gets into a coveted school or has a side playdate.
The press feasted on Duesberg’s self-portrayal as the victim of ostracism arising from professional jealousies — a target of cancel culture before that was a thing.
From Los Angeles Times
The court heard in bodyworn footage, the woman can be heard telling officers: "It was like jealousy, controlling of like who I can be friends with."
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
